The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), last week Thursday, defeated the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to emerge winner in the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge (TBSC) Grand Finale.
The school rose to the top with a total score of 53.2 in five rounds. Its competitors, UCC, finished second with 47.7, while the UPSA came third with 30.2 points.
The TBSC aims to bring together students in business schools of the tertiary institutions to compete and unearth their business insights and entrepreneurial skills in order to prepare them for socio-economic development.
Another purpose of the initiative is to challenge the youth to go out of their comfort zones and give their best to whatever they pursue.
Last Thursday’s edition was the 4th time the program was being organised, out of which the UCC has emerged winners twice.
The current winner, KNUST, is said to have placed 4th in the first edition, 3rd in the second edition, 2nd in the 3rd edition, and now 1st. It is the first time the UPSA is making its appearance in the finals.
THE COMPETITION
During last Thursday’s competition, KNUST didn’t take the race lightly. This was evidenced in their effort to gain the highest marks in most of the rounds, while their competitors lagged behind.
In the first round which tested the students on basic theories of business, the Kumasi-based tertiary institution won by 25 points, while the UCC and UPSA managed 12 and 3 points respectively.
In the second round, all three universities didn’t perform so well, but the UPSA managed to top the chart with 7 points, while UCC and KNUST gained 6 and 5 points respectively.
The third round, which demanded the students to solve a business problem, saw the UCC top the chart with 7.7 points, while the UPSA and the KNUST garnered 6.5 and 6 respectively.
The 4th round was on the Graphic Business segment and the students answered questions on some stories which appeared in the newspaper. Again, the UCC topped the chart with 19 points, while KNUST managed to pull 10 point and the UPSA 7 points.
In the final round, the students were tested with some riddles. Both KNUST and UPSA got 4 points each, while the UCC couldn’t secure any, which eventually placed them in the second position, while KNUST came first.
AWARDS
The announcement of KNUST emerging winners of the 2022 edition was greeted with applause and cheers from their colleagues, who trooped to the National Theater to support them.
For the awards, the university was given GH¢4,000.00 cash. Each student was also given mobile phones, an insurance package worth GH¢30,000, a certificate, internship opportunities, and a 3-month free subscription of the Graphic App.
The first runner up university also received GH¢6,000.00 cash, with each student receiving a package similar to that of the second runner up and tablets.
The winning school received GH¢10,000.00 cash. Their student on the other hand received laptops and additional packages similar to the first and the second runners up.
Mr. Lord Kelvin Atisu and Madam Vivian Nyantah, competitors from the KNUST team were awarded the best male and female competitors. They received GH¢2,000.00 each. Speaking to this paper, Madam Nyantah expressed her joy at her school winning the award.
She noted that there were challenges with regards to studying materials, coaching and others, but that did not stop her and the rest of team from participating.
She also spoke about the fact that she has been able to win the best female contestant award and encouraged her female counterparts to take part in such activities. The TBSC is an initiative of the Graphic Communication groups with sponsorship from corporate Ghana.
